Subtraction with Supermarket Things — Kindergarten

Take a small pile of carts, baskets and a till, cross some away, count what's left — that is the whole of this kindergarten sheet, repeated with a fresh picture each row. The child does the subtracting with a pencil stroke, removing the supermarket things that go and counting the remainder. Doing it by hand keeps the idea concrete: subtraction is what happens when some of a group is taken away, and the leftover is the answer.

Keeping the starting group within ten means a child can always reach the answer by counting what is left rather than recalling a fact they have not met yet. That keeps the focus on what subtraction means — a group made smaller by taking some away — instead of racing for speed before the idea is secure.

Children who enjoy supermarket things take to crossing out quickly, and it works as a calm hands-on task or a whole-class action on the board. When this feels easy, take some away in subtraction with bakery treats, or try subtraction with christmas. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole supermarket things collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.